Side Scoop Louvers Now Available!

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Fresh off the press.....so fresh I don't even have them posted on my website yet. These Side Scoop Louvers replace the restrictive mesh and open up a much larger area for fresh air to enter the engine bay. Not only that, but they help direct the air toward the engine bay for more effective cooling. Let's face it, there are not a whole lot of options available for getting fresh air into the engine bay to cool it down. The windshield creates a low-pressure area on the entire top surface of the engine bay, so the side scoops are about the only good path for cool air to get in. I have plenty of experience with the GTM to know how to cool down a mid-engine engine bay. It was a significant problem on the GTM, just as it is on the 818. A GTM set up with the FFR provided mesh installed in all of the openings as recommended would create an engine bay so hot that it would burn your fingers on the fiberglass hatch when you attempted to open it. The rear hatch glass would get so hot you could not keep your hand on it after a short drive. l learned how to eliminate these problems on the GTM, and those same solutions will generate the same results on the 818. And getting heat out of the engine bay will naturally create a cooler cockpit so you can enjoy driving instead of feeling like you're driving around in an oven.

I have a significant amount of work in the design of these louvers to get them to fit right, provide additional cooling air and also look good (hopefully you guys will agree?). I'm going to offer an introductory price of $99 per pair. These are shipped as flat aluminum parts that must be assembled and bonded together. They will also come with a cut template to use as a guide to make an accurate cut in the body so the louvers fit properly. You can place your orders by visiting my website and emailing me with your order. Let me know what you guys think.

[bbjones121]

I like them. They will be a great addition and they look like they will work with potential carbon fiber scoops being designed by others.

[FFRSpec72]

I like them. They will be a great addition and they look like they will work with potential carbon fiber scoops being designed by others.

Shane, these look great, nice design, I assume these are aluminum ? I will definitely use these as the starting point to cool down the engine compartment. Now to get some louvers on the rear for more air flow !

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Hi Shane,
Good job, the louvers look nice and at a decent price.
What is the functional advantage over just an open cut out of the same size?
Bob

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Hi Bob. The louvers are going to force the air up at a bit of an angle and direct it toward the engine bay. I assume the wheel-well area is similar to the GTM, in which there is an aluminum panel between the rear tire and the side scoop? If this is the case, air entering a big open hole is going to hit that aluminum and want to bounce back and swirl around and create turbulence behind the side scoop. These louvers should act a bit like the honeycomb inserts that can be found in things like Mass Airflow sensors....to straighten out the air for smoother airflow and less turbulence.

Appearance-wise, it also blocks your vision from seeing the chassis and other "stuff" in the engine bay behind the side scoop.....unless you kneel down and stick your head down there to look "up" thru the louver openings.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Thanks Tony! I'll be working on louvers for the rear of the car shortly.....as that is the key to cooling! We can try to push all of this cool air into the engine bay, but it works a lot better if the hot air has a place to get out!!

[gwarden]

I'm guessing this is just for the aluminum parts shown in the photos. How do they attach to the body?
Can you post a pic of just the part I will get when I buy?

[Mechie3]

Those look nice. You're spot on about the fender liners being pretty much right behind the vent.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

I'm guessing this is just for the aluminum parts shown in the photos. How do they attach to the body?
Can you post a pic of just the part I will get when I buy?

Yes...each assy consists of 11 individual aluminum pieces that are slotted to fit together. I recommend 3M 8115 panelbonding adhesive to bond the parts together (creating a small "fillet weld" of the epoxy on the bottom and outside edges of the joints where it can't be seen from outside the car) and also the bond the louvers to the body. On GTM's we normally fit and assemble the louvers, cut the body opening, get a perfect fit between the louvers and body and bond the aluminum pieces together with the louver actually in position on the body (once it's all bonded together it is very, very rigid and can not be "adjusted" to fit). Once the louvers are a bonded assy and the body opening is cut and sanded to a perfect fit with the louvers, we send the louvers out to powdercoat and the body out to paint. On final assembly of the car, we sand the powdercoat off the portions of the louvers where they bond to the body and then bond the assy directly to the body with the same 8115 epoxy.

I'll try to get some pics of the individual parts posted yet this week.

[metros]

Great looking pieces! I like how from the side they look almost like gills or fish scales with an overlapping pattern.

[bbjones121]

Hi Shane, I emailed you for an order of these.

[Frank818]

Now we're talking!! Keep on coming with these solutions!

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Hi Shane, I emailed you for an order of these.

I don't believe I received an email from you? You may want to re-send or double check the email address. Thanks!!

[bbjones121]

I don't believe I received an email from you? You may want to re-send or double check the email address. Thanks!!

Sorry, I don't know what I did or didn't do. Probably forgot to hit send.

Anyway, money was sent.

[65 Cobra Dude]

Shane,

Just sent you an email. They look great.

Henry

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Thanks guys! I'm tied up for a few hours this morning, but everyone who has sent me emails to order these, we'll be getting back to you with totals and payment info later this morning. Thanks!!!

[Samiam1017]

Can you post pics of the back so we can see them mounted and how assembly goes. Thx

[flynntuna]

I'm a fan of adapting mods ect from other models in the FFR line. In another thread Scargo described his mod he's doing to the side scoops.


"Does this mean that all production cars and pure race cars with similar side vents perform poorly? I'm guessing not, and that functionality is somewhat dependent on the front aerodynamics (as has been mentioned) rather than how far it sticks out in front of the wheel-well. Perhaps canards could help?
In the front, perhaps more emphasis placed on the hood's vents being larger and more air exiting there? Perhaps the side openings of the front fenders be made larger and the door not be blunt in the front, so that airflow is not moving as fast and as turbulently on exit? I have trimmed back the vertical lip on the rear of the front fender till it is almost flush to the inside. I moved the front of the doors in (more than normal). I have created about as big an opening as I can in that area.
At the rear, I plan on bringing the face of the rear side opening in by cutting it top and bottom, vertically scoring the inside of the front-most area, so it will bend (hard against the frame at the back), and then re-glassing it top and bottom."



I'm not sure if your louvers could be adapted to this mod or not (probably not) but if you can make available louvers for those interested in this mod I'd be interested.

Other mods of the sire scoops I've seen on a GTM that I like are these...

[bbjones121]

Pieces look great, i took a stab at putting it together.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Wow...you have them already? I've been working on coming up with some assembly instructions. I will send them to you as soon as I get something usable.

[bbjones121]

Haha, USPS beat you no worries, I am not putting the body on yet.

[matteo92065]

I got mine!
Just my observations:
Packaged nicely,
Good shape to the pieces,
No instructions for the template,
The notches took some filing to improve fit
image.jpg. image.jpg. image.jpg

Edit: I was typing while the instructions comment posted.

[bbjones121]

How can you identify what order the pieces go? I took a guess.

[matteo92065]

How can you identify what order the pieces go? I took a guess.

ha ha ha!
Don't shuffle them out of the package. I did on the first set and it messed me up. I numbered the second set to keep them in order. Once assembled look at the back edge and you will see a small nub. Probably where the cut started and finished. That nub will move gradually from one end to the other as you go down on louvers. If the nub moves back and forth, you have them out of order.

[bbjones121]

Ok cool. Thanks. I am pretty certain mine were not taped together in order. At least the one that is obviously the bottom one was in the middle of the stack. No biggie.

[FFRSpec72]

I got mine!
Just my observations:
Packaged nicely,
Good shape to the pieces,
No instructions for the template,
The notches took some filing to improve fit
image.jpg. image.jpg. image.jpg

Edit: I was typing while the instructions comment posted.

Looks great ! Should improve airflow

[bbjones121]

Shane,
I just got your emails with attachments. Thanks for the extremely detailed instructions with photos. They look like it will be very easy to follow to piece these together. Looks like you went above and beyond on the instructions. Much appreciated!
Paul

[metros]

^^^Agreed, great instructions are the exception, not the norm with aftermarket parts.

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Shane,
I just got your emails with attachments. Thanks for the extremely detailed instructions with photos. They look like it will be very easy to follow to piece these together. Looks like you went above and beyond on the instructions. Much appreciated!
Paul

Still can't get over how quickly you guys received these! I figured that I'd have plenty of time to get the instructions to you before the louvers arrived in the mail!....guess not! I know the instructions are probably a bit of photo-overload, but as they say, a pictures worth 1000 words. It always helps me to be able to visually see the goal, so I went a bit nuts on the photos. Thanks to everyone for your orders!

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

Just a note to add that I haven't completed the instructions as far as bonding the louvers to the body. I ran out of 8115 so as soon as more of it shows up here, I'll finish up email #4 showing you how to bond them together and how to bond them to the body.

[Mechie3]

IMO, I'd rather have instructions that are too detailed with photos and all than instructions that say "yeah...make it fit, then glue it and stuff".

The design when not hidden by body work reminds me of these puzzles. Here's a raptor as it's fitting with your name:

[Samiam1017]

Ordered today. Want to order mechies hood louvers does anybody have both? Do the look similar enough that they go together ?

[FFRSpec72]

Ordered today. Want to order mechies hood louvers does anybody have both? Do the look similar enough that they go together ?

might want to wait to see if VRaptor produces some nice hood louvers

[FFRSpec72]

IMO, I'd rather have instructions that are too detailed with photos and all than instructions that say "yeah...make it fit, then glue it and stuff".

The design when not hidden by body work reminds me of these puzzles. Here's a raptor as it's fitting with your name:

Gee no imagination !

[Mechie3]

I'm not sure who has no imagination. lol. I thought they looked pretty cool actually ( the louvers and the raptor puzzles).

[VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC]

I'm not sure who has no imagination. lol. I thought they looked pretty cool actually ( the louvers and the raptor puzzles).

LOL....I have that raptor dino in CAD also and have made one out of aluminum a few years ago when my son was younger and was into dinosaurs. ;-)

That also has a lot to do with how my company name came to be.......

[matteo92065]

Finished installing the drivers side louvers. I thought that this would be the harder side since it has the gas tank fill tube. It fit fine, lots of room left.
A couple of notes;
My filler tube is modified for the aluminum gas tank many people get.
I did not have instructions when I installed this side. My cuts were what I thought would be best. So I am a little disappointed in the fiberglass cuts. After getting the instructions, the other side will turn out much better. The instructions are very detailed.
I welded all the pieces together, and bonded studs onto the inner body panels. My louvers are now out to powder coat.


IMG_0018.JPGIMG_0017.JPGIMG_0015.JPG

[FFRSpec72]

Finished installing the drivers side louvers.

Looks great, post a pics when you get them back from the powder coat folsk

[bbjones121]

anyone have these in a complete car yet? Pics?

[bbjones121]

I got mine!
Just my observations:
Packaged nicely,
Good shape to the pieces,
No instructions for the template,
The notches took some filing to improve fit
image.jpg. image.jpg. image.jpg

Edit: I was typing while the instructions comment posted.

Any full car pictures of these?